trueimage Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 Hey, I'm about to update my unRAID box and I'm going to try to source the parts used or cheap to keep costs down to save money for HDDs Here's what I have right now: MSI K8NGM2-FID Motherboard, onboard video and lan etc... from an old HTPC build Opteron 144 s939 cpu stock cooler Intel PCIe 1x Pro 1000 Gig-E NIC 2x 512mb Kingston HyperX DDR 400 SDRAM Enermax 350W PSU, no 24-pin supprt for main connector, only 20-pin! An old case with no sides 2x 750GB Seagate 7200.9 or 7200.10 I can't remember, SATA 1x 750GB PATA Seagate 7200.9 I think (the 3rd SATA died) Right now it is just setup as disk1 / disk2, I want to migrate that to all one share with the highlevel method or whatever, but that is another thread. Ok, so here is my current plan to make this more permanent, now that I know it will work for me. My goal is to have things fairly quiet and drawing as little power as possible. I am in Canada so now NewEgg. Trying to find the best sources here, any suggestions help. I usually check NCIX, DirectCanada (same company but lower prices?), Memory Express, Canada Computers, TigerDirect.ca PSU - $90 - Corsair VX430W. 80Plus certified, very quiet and power efficient even at low draw levels and up to 200W draw according to silentpc review. MB - $100 - Abit AB9 Pro. How can I not get this one, with all the great reviews here. I just have to find one, other than refurb on eBay in Canada - might get that anyway. CPU - $65 - Intel Celeron 440 (Conroe-L). This one is for the power savings, since unRAID is not CPU dependent at all. NIC - $0 - Keeping the Intel from above, probably the best NIC out there. VID - $0 - I have an old 6600GT PCI-e laying around, I can plug in for setup and maintenance. I will be running headless 99% of the time. This will save power to unplug it anyway - it will still boot without video right? RAM - $0 (sort of) - I will use the 2x1GB DDR2 pulled from my HTPC. HDDs - $? - I will keep the two SATA 750GB drives. I was thinking of getting several more, but I want to stay with Seagate and move up to 7200.11 drives that use the perpendicular bits or whatever. Faster access and I think more power efficient. CASE - $100 - Coolermaster 590. I think the best choice for me. I have some low noise 120mm Yate Loon fans lying around too. Prices are approximate, in Canadian $, and including shipping estimates. So, $355 for no new HDDs. Add about $200 for a 1TB 7200.11 or $160 for a 750GB. I should be ok with 3x750 used for data right now. I have a fast 7200.10 250GB for cache (uses the 7200.11 tech). So let's add $400 for 2x1TB we're at $755. HTPC: I need to upgrade: Video - 9600GT with HDMI out, $150 RAM - 2x2GB PC-8000 kit, G.SKILL F2-8000CL5D-4GBPI Pi PC2-8000 4GB 2X2GB DDR2-1000, about $120 So now we're at $755 + $270 = 1025. Anything I've forgotten or should change? Link to comment
BryantD Posted May 15, 2008 Share Posted May 15, 2008 I don't think you can run the Abit Pro MB headless: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=1946.0 Link to comment
trueimage Posted May 15, 2008 Author Share Posted May 15, 2008 Thanks for the link! That sucks. I don't mind had a video card, i just want to be sure it: a) doesnt affect performance - does having a video card plugged into the pci or pci-e bus cause slowdown of the drives somehow? b) drains as little power as possible c) is quiet Link to comment
WeeboTech Posted May 16, 2008 Share Posted May 16, 2008 I bought a small ATI card for $9.00 on eBay. I also have a 32MB G550PCIe x1 card that I use. I think the less video ram on the card, the more that is available to the system, Link to comment
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